Shoestring knot retainer



April 6, 1954 A. CATALDI SHOE$TRING KNOT RETAINER IIIIIIII INVENTOR. ANGELO CATALDI wmwflu/mm v K944422220);

ATT 0 RN EYE Patented Apr. 6, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,674,021 sH-oEs'rRING KNOT RETAINER Angelo Cataldi, Nutley, N. 3., assignor of one-half to Charles Herdman, Newark, N. J. Application January 19, 1951, serial No. 206,849 2 Claims. (Cl. 24-119) 1 This invention relates to string knot retainers and more particularly to a separable, protective receptacle for receiving the knot of a string, such as a shoestring, to protect the knot from being accidentally untied or intentionally untied by a wearer, such as a small child.

It is among the objects of the invention to providea knot receptacle for string knots, such as shoestring knots, to protect such knots from being untied accidentally or by small children and also to prevent a knot protected thereby from being caught by obstacles and drawn so tight as to render it diflicult to untie; which protective receptacle is easy to apply and remove by any person reasonably developed in manual skill,

but cannot ordinarily be removed by very small children and cannot be pulled oif of a knot without first separating its separable parts; which is of small size and light weight and does not interfere with the movements of the wearer even when applied to the shoestrings of small children; which may be provided in various ornamental shapes and appearances; and which is simple and durable in construction, economical to manufacture and neat and attractive in appearance.

Other objects and advantages will become ,apparent from a consideration of the following .description and the appended claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic perspective view showing a knot protector in place on the knot of the shoestring worn by a small child;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal cross sectional .view of the knot protector on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the knot protector itself;

Figure 4 is an end elevational view of a somewhat modified form of knot protector; and

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view on the line 5-5 of Figure 4.

With continued reference to the drawing, the knot protector comprises a hollow container provided in two separable parts or receptacles, as indicated at I0 and II.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the knot protector is in the form of an elongated cylindrical receptacle having end walls disposed one at each end thereof.

The part or receptacle ID has a cylindrical continuous side wall I2 and an end wall I3 closing one end of the side wall and disposed substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal center line of the part I 0. At its other or open end the side wall I2 is externally recessed annularly and provided with external screw threads I4. The side wall I2 is also provided with anarrow slot I5 which extends longitudinally of the part ill from the open end thereof to a position intermediate the length of the part IQ and spaced from the end wall I3. This slot I5 has a Width such that it receives the portions I6 and i! of a shoestring adjacent the knot I3 in the shoestring, but such that the knot It will not pass through the slot.

The part it also has a cylindrical wall l9 and an end wall is closing one end of the side wall it and disposed substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal center line of the part. The side Wall It is annularly recessed internally at the open end of the part I I and provided with internal screw threads 2| which engage with the threads I l on the part II] to releasably secure the parts It and II together when the part II, constituting a closure cap, is threaded onto the part It at the open end of the latter. It is to be noted that the threads I l and 2| between the open end wall portions of the walls I2 and I9 a." respectively, constitute a releasable interengaging means for securing the receptacles Ill and H together.

Although the slot i5 extends entirely to the open end of the part It? of the receptacle wh'en the cap part I I is threaded onto the part It, this end of the part I0 is reinforced so that the slot cannot be spread to permit the passage of the knot Iii therethrough.

The receptacle has a length substantially the same as the length of a bow knot in which shoestrings are ordinarily tied and a diameter suificient to receive such a bow knot loosely in the receptacle, as is particularly illustrated in Figure'2, The receptacle is preferably formed of a light weight, readily moldable and machineable material, such as a synthetic resin plastic and may, if desired, be formed of a transparent material, so that the shoestring knot is readily visible therethrough. This transparency not only adds to the attractiveness of the device, but also permits ready visual inspection of the condition of the knot contained in the protective receptacle. However, if desired, the protective receptacle may be formed of either translucent or opaque material and may be variously colored and ornamented, as may be desired.

While the shoestring protector of the present invention has a primary utility in protecting the shoestring knots on the shoes of small children and maintaining such knots tied against accidental untying thereof and the efforts of such small children to untie the knots and remove the shoes, it also has other uses, such as that of providing ornamental attachments or accessories for the shoes of older children.

The modified form of the invention illustrated in Figures 4 and is the same in operation and general construction as the form illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3 and described above, except that the modified form has been given a definite ornamental or novelty shape and is more particularly adapted for use as an ornamental accessory for the shoes of older children, such as high school children.

In the form illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 the device has been given the shape of a miniature football and is externally ornamented, as indicated at 22 and 23 to more closely simulate the appearance of such an object.

The modified device illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 is formed in two separable parts 24 and 25, each resembling one half of a miniature football transversely divided at the mid-length location of its longest axis. Each of the parts 24 and 25 is open at its larger end and the part 24 is internally recessed annularly at its open end and provided with internal screw threads 26. The part 25 is exteriorly recessed annularly at its open end and provided with external screw threads 21 which thread into the screw threads 26 so that the two parts 24 and 25 can be detachably secured together at their open ends.

The part 24 is provided with a slot 28 extending longitudinally thereof from its open end to a location intermediate the length thereof, and the part 25 is provided with a complementary slot 29 extending from the open end of the part 25 .to a location intermediate the length of the latter. The recessed portions and the screw threads of the two parts 24 and 25 are so related that the slots 28 and 29 are in substantial longitudinal alignment with each other when the two parts are tightly threaded together and the slots have a width such that while they will loosely receive the portions of a shoestring adjacent a shoestring knot, the knot cannot be pulled through the slot. 7

The modified form of the device may also be formed of a suitable synthetic resin material or equivalent material, and may be colored and ornamented, as may be desired. Obviously, the device may be provided in various other ornamental shapes and forms, such as basket balls, bowling pins, baseball bats, and various other inanimate and animate objects, without in any Way exceeding the scope of the invention, it being merely a prime consideration that the devices be kept of such small size and light weight as not to interfere in any way with the move- 'ments of the wearer.

The invention may be embodied in other spe- Number cific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are, therefore, intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:

1. A protector for a shoestring knot comprising a pair of receptacles each having a continuous wall closed at one end and open at the other end, the continuous wall of one of said receptacles having a single slot extending longitudinally inwardly from the open end toward and spaced from its closed end, and releasable interengaging means between the open end wall portions of said receptacles for securing said receptacles together, said slot extending through and beyond the interengaging means on the open end wall portion of said one receptacle, said receptacles when releasably interengaged having a portion of said slot which is in communication with the exterior.

2. A protector for a shoestring knot comprising a pair of receptacles each having a continuous wall closed at one end and open at the other end, the continuous wall of one of said receptacles having a single slot extending longitudinally inwardly from the open end toward and spaced from its closed end, and releasable interengaging screw thread means between the open end wall portions of said receptacles for securing said receptacles together, said slot extending through and beyond the interengaging means on the open end wall portion of said one receptacle, said receptacles when releasably interengaged having a portion of said slot which is in communication with the exterior.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date 81,040 Westhead Aug. 11, 1868 459,160 Troxler Sept. 8, 1891 625,165 Hanson May 16, 1899 1,264,833 Mansbendel Apr. 30, 1918 1,355,026 Austin Oct. 5, 1920 1,460,743 Binns July 3, 1923 2,168,876 Noyack Aug. 8, 1939 2,440,012 Haver Apr. 20, 1948 2,600,904 Morgan June 17, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 692,767 France Nov. 10, 1930 147,266 Austria Oct. 10, 1936 France Mar. 29, 1945 

